Trimming apparatus



Nov. 4, 1941. P. c. FRIDERICHSEN TRIMMING APPARATUS Filed June 24, 1940 l m m w m s .m S r w 1 e m m W V w e I m ZZZV Nov. 4, 1941. P. c. FRIDERICHSEN TRIMMING APPARATUS Filed June 24, 1940. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENT OR. .3??? CE??? erz'c is e 72 ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATE TRIMlVHNG APPARATUS Peter 0. Friderichsen, Glendale, Califl, assignor to Pacific Clay Products Company, a corporation of California Application June 24, 1940, Serial No. 342,133 4 Claims. (01. 25-104) My invention relates to improvements in method of and apparatus for trimming products made out of clay and other materials and more particularly to'that class wherein rough edges are removed from green tiles or blocks of material as they are delivered from a press or other forming apparatus. The primary object of this invention is to remove fins, rough corners and rough edges left by the press at or near the upper corners of the side edges of tiles or other blocks, thus leaving green tiles or blocks finished with smooth and substantially perfect corners without injuring the body of the block.. Another object is the production of apparatus for trimming the corners of prepared blocks of material in which they are turned automatically in an effective manner so that trimming cutters are caused to trim all of the upper side corners or edges of angularly shaped bodies while the latter are moved in a straight uninterrupted path in the same direction as the delivery movement of the press by which the bodies are formed. Tiles or other blocks in green condition, that is after they are formed by the press but before being burned are easily broken or injured and itis'an object to provide cooperatingfeed andtrimming means whereby the blocks are subjected to the action of the trimming elements without injury. Another object is the provision of means for increasing the longitudinal spacing between pairs of blocks while in transit from the press so that they may be turned without interference into a position which enables the trimming elements to efiiciently perform their function against the corners or'edges of the blocks, whether the blocks are of rectangular, square, oblong, hexagonal or any other shape. A still further object is the production of an efficient resilient trimming element, whereby the'cutters are adapted to remove the fins and rough corners verygradually, step by step and avoid injuring theblocks by too deep a bite into the green material constituting the blocks. A still further object is greater simplicity of construction and effectiveness in operation, in a tile or other block trimming mechanism, than heretofore.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Fig. 1 is a plan of my invention in which a portion of a press is indicated; Fig. 2 is' a side elevation, partly in section of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of a detail portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of a detail partly in section; Fig. 5 is a plan on an enlarged scale of a detail showing a portion of one of the trimmer guides; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. '7 is a side elevation of a detail showing one of the supports used for the trimmer guides; Fig. 8 isaschematic view illustrating the offset position assumed by tiles when they are turned from one trimming position to anotherfand- Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. .8 illustrating the offset position assumed when the machine is designed for trimming hexagonal tiles. Y I

. In the drawings A indicates a portion of a press by. which two pairs of tile blocks of clay or other suitable material in green condition are adapted to be pressed by one operation and transferred from the press forwardly by any suitable ejecting or conveying means in the usual manner. As shown four square tiles are adapted to be pressed and delivered from the press during each operation while arranged in transverse and parallel pairs 10 and l I. Said conveyor as shown consists of a short endless horizontaldelivery belt B and along horizontal conveyor belt C arranged longitudinally in-substantially a direct pathin the direction of delivery away from the press and arranged with their upper sides in .a horizontal plane. These conveyor belts are driven forwardly in the direction of the arrows with the belt .0 at greater surface speed than thatof the delivery beltB so that as the green tiles or other blocks represented by I are transferred in transverse pairs from the belt B to belt C, spaced intervals between the pairs of blocks are increased longitudinally. This increased spaceis for the purpose of providing sufli-cient room. so that the tile blocks may turn in a horizontal plane during the interval between the forward and rearward trimmer sections D and E as will be hereinafter described. The tile blocks I as shown are of rectangular shape and the conveyor belts are arranged to conduct them away from the press a with two of the opposite side edges of each tile block disposed longitudinally until the first trimming section D to be hereinafter described has functioned. Then'they are turned horizontally a quarter turn after which the newly arranged opposite longitudinal side edges are trimmed by the second trimming section E as will be hereinafter described.

Along each side of and above the conveyor belts are the pairs of longitudinally disposed supports l2 and 13 of frame G, between which extend a suitable number of transverse supporting shafts l4 to l9 inclusive for the various parts of the trimming mechanism. The delivery belt 13 is adapted to receive the greentile blocks from or guideways, spanning the interval between the belts, through which the tiles or blocks pass in transverse pairs and by which they are held accurately in position as they advance forwardly. A small revoluble transfer roller 23 journaled in screw 41.

(see Fig. 5) and is adjustably supported slightly above and out of contact with conveyor belt C in substantially the same manner as the guides 20, 2| and 22, by transverse rods 42 and 43, supporting arms 44 and 45, blocks such as 34 (see Fig. 7), adjustable vertical pins such as 35 and flexible connections such as 36. Each of the cutters F as shown consists of a cylindrical body 46 (see Fig. 5) rigidly but adjustably'secured on end to a guide in one of the recesses 4| by a A flexible arm 48 is secured in the body by the set screw 49 and on the outer end of the supports l2 and I3 and driven by pulley 24 J at increased surface speed over that of belt 3 is d placed across the space between the ends of the conveyor belts and assists in transferring the tile blocks smoothly and evenly from one conv yor to the other. The conveyor belts are provided with rollers such as 25 and 26 which are driven at suitable speeds through the use of drive pulleys 21 and 28. The guides 20, 2| and 22 are supported in a horizontal plane close to but preferably not touching the surfaces of the conveyor belts by suitable adjustable'means composed of a pair of transverse rods 30 and 3| and short longitudinal arms 32 and 33, which latter are clamped to the shafts l4 and |5. The arms 32 and 33 also serve to adjustably support the guides 20, 2| and 22 at selected elevation above the belt B and at suitable distances laterally apart to admit and guide the tile blocks evenly. The guides 20, 2| and 22 are secured to the lower ends of arms 32 and 33 by small supporting blocks such as 34 which are clamped on the rods 30 and 3| :by screws .35 (see Fig. 7). These blocks are fastened to the guides by vertical pins such as 35 and small resilient connections 36 so that the guides will more gently contact the side edges of the tile blocks to prevent marring the latter.

The ends of the guides 20, 2| and 22 facing the press are formed with inwardly converging faces 31 for directing the tile blades into the guideways formed by said guides. As the tile blocks egress in a direct path longitudinally from the guiding mechanism described, they enter the first set of trimming mechanism D by which their opposite longitudinal edges at their upper corners are trimmed. Upon emerging from the press in green condition rough edges such as fins are left on the tile blocks which are, objectionable J and it is the primary object of this invention to remove these blemishes without marring the comparatively soft material out of which the blocks are formed. As it is not practicable to hold the tile blocks under any pressure without marring them the finished surfaces must be left free from contact with any object and the fins or other protruding blemishes must be removed by successive and rather delicate cutting or abrasive action. This I accomplish by arranging a series of resilient trimmers F along the side edges in the path of each tile in suitable position so as to gradually and successively out and remove the blemishes adjacent to each longitudinal corner of the tile block which is acted upon. Each series of trimmers is mounted upon a longitudinal guide, there being three parallel trimmer guides 38, 39 and 40 disposed in substantially parallel position corresponding and in alignment with the first set of guides 20, 2| and 22 so as to form direct forward trimmer channels or guideways of substantially the same width as the tile blocks and belowwhich the conveyor belt C advances said blocks. Each of these trimmer guides resembles a fiat bar having a series of vertical recesses 4| *thisflexible arm is a socket or chuck in which a cutter 5| is removably held by a screw 52. This cutter preferably has a heel 53 tapering forwardly and downwardly to present a gradual abrasive surface to the forward movement of the tile blocks and gradually cut or grind the fins or blemishes from the upper corners of the longitudinal side edges as the belt advances the tile blocks through the machine. The cutter is preferably made out of carborundum or any other suitable material which will withstand the grinding effect of the material out of which the tile blocks are composed. Any suitable numberof these trimmers F may be employed, the drawing showing five pairs for each tile block. Th flexible arm 48 is adjustable in the chuck 50 by releasing and tightening the set screw 49 and by this means may be'heightened, lengthened or varied angularly. I

As each pair of tile blocks is advanced in a straight direction beyond the first set of trimmers the members thereof meet with soft resilient rotatable obstructing rollers 55 and 56. These rollers are freely journaled upon a pair of rigid rearwardly extending guide arms 51 and 58. Said but longitudinally so as to divert the blocks and cause them to assume longitudinal paths at an increased distance apart laterally. This movement is illustrated graphically in Fig. 8. The turning mechanism is mounted upon the pair of supporting shafts l1 and I8 and consists of two pairs of longitudinal guides 51 and 59, and 58 and 60. These guides form' longitudinal guide channels or passageways through which the'tile blocks are causedto travel after being turned as they are advanced by the conveyor belt C. These guide arms are mounted upon short transverse rods 6|, which in turn are adjustably clamped to the shafts l1 and I8 by supports such as 62. The forward ends of guides 59 and 60 are curved outwardly apart to produce guiding shoulders for assisting in guiding the tiles into the guide channels and all of the guides including the rollers 55 and 5B are normally supported above and out of contact with but close to the surface of the conveyor belt C so as to engage and function upon the tile blocks without injury 'to the latter. The rollers 55 and 56 are preferably made out of soft rubber or other suitable material to reduce tendency of injuring the til blocks.

After the tile blocks have been shifted degrees by the guide rollers 55 and 56, they advance in offset position along straight longitudinal paths into the final trimming mechanism E by which the remaining untrimmed upper corners of the opposite side edges are trimmed. This second trimming mechanism is similar to the first set D, exceptthat the guide channels are positioned wider apart to accommodate the previous turning movement of the tile blocks. Instead of a single guide 38 between the pair of channels being employed two guides 63 and 64, each bearing a set of trimmers such as F are used. Otherwise the description of the first set of trimming mechanism applies.

After leaving the second set of trimming mechanism, a revoluble brush 65, superimposed above the conveyor belt C is adapted to sweep any cuttings or grindings from the surfaces of the tiles.

The apparatus may be mounted upon any desired form of frame, one form G being shown in the drawings in which the conveyor rollers, transfer roller 23 and brush roller 65 are journaled and driven at suitable speed to act in synchronism with the operation of the press to drive the conveyor belt C and transfer roller 23 at suitable increased speed over that of belt B, whereby the longitudinal interval between the pairs of tile blocks is increased sufficiently to cause the obstructing rollers turning the tile blocks a quarter of a revolution without interference.

The apparatus is equally applicable for trimming the edges or corners of other shaped tiles or blocks than as described. For instance it can be modified to trim the edges of hexagonal tile blocks J or other articles by properly proportioning the parts so that a one sixth turn will be imparted tothe article instead of a quarter turn and so that by adding additional sets of trimming mechanism all six sides instead of four will be treated in a similar manner to remove fins and blemishes. For comparison and illustration, Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate diagrammatically the application of this principle, in which Fig. 8 illustrates the movement involved in connection with a rectangular tile block, and Fig. 9 the same principle is illustrated as applied to a hexagonal tile block J.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation of my invention together with the construction thereof which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof but I desire to have it understood that the structure shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for trimming prepared blocks of material having angular margins, a supporting frame, a conveyor upon said frame by which the blocks are advanced, longitudinal guide bars spaced laterally apart above and free from said conveyor and between which the blocks are advanced by the conveyor, transverse supports having depending flexible connections with said bars by which the bars are movable laterally apart vanced by the by the blocks therebetween overhead shafts on said frame having longitudinally disposed arms adjustably secured to said transverse supports to vary the elevation at which the guide bars are supported above said conveyor, and a series of trimmers on each of said guide bars having trimming surfaces facing inwardly between said guide bars adapted to gradually trim the opposite edges of the blocks.

2. Apparatus for trimming prepared blocks of material having angular margins, a supporting frame, a conveyor upon said frame by which the blocks are advanced, a set of mechanism, comprising, lcngitudinal guide bars spaced laterally apart above and free from said conveyor and between which the blocks are advanced by the conveyor, transverse supports having depending flexible connections with said bars by which the bars are movable laterally apart by the blocks therebetween, overhead shafts on said frame having longitudinally disposed arms adjustably secured to said transverse supports for varying the elevation at which the guide bars'are supported above said conveyor, and a series of trimmers on each of said guide bars having trimming surfaces facing inwardly between said guide bars adapted to gradually trim the opposite edges of the blocks; a roller in the path of the blocks adapted to shift the blocks as they advance from the first set of mechanism from longitudinal into transverse position on the conveyor, and a second set of mechanism similar to the first set above the conveyor by which the newly arranged longitudinal edges of the blocks are trimmed.

3. In a structure defined in claim 1, each of the trimmers being adjustably and flexibly supported on said bars to vary its trimming surface inwardly between the bars and to apply its trimming surface upon the blocks under spring pressure.

4. Apparatus for trimming prepared blocks of material having angular margins, a supporting frame, a conveyor upon said frame by which the blocks are advanced, longitudinal guide bars spaced laterally apart above and free from said conveyor and between which the blocks are adconveyor, transverse supports having depending weak flexible supporting connections with said bars by which the latter are adapted to yield-laterally apart under pressure by the blocks therebetween, overhead shafts on said frame having rotatable longitudinally disposed arms adjustably secured to vary the inclination thereof on said shafts and the elevation at which the guide bars are supported above said conveyor, and a series of trimmers on each of said guide bars having trimming surfaces facing inwardly to gradually trim the opposite edges of the blocks.

PETER C. FRIDERICI-ISEN. 

